Reward programs make any business attractive. There are consumers out there who take pleasure in spending more if they know there are rewards or points that can be accumulated. Google is taking advantage of this idea by introducing the Google Play Security Reward Program. This isn’t exactly new because the tech giant has already launched something similar for Chrome, Chrome OS, Google websites and apps, and Pixel devices.
The main idea is that users and those people part of the security research community will be compensated for their hard work. It’s not always all about financial rewards but simple incentives to encourage more people to participate, check issues, and submit possible vulnerabilities.
In cooperation with HackerOne, an independent bug researcher, Google allows developers to report their findings. The goal is to discover issues and vulnerabilities in exchange for some money from Google Play. Believe it or not, security researchers and research teams can receive millions of dollars from Google.
Because of the success of Google’s other reward programs, the company decided to work with more researchers and developers to improve app security. Only a group of select developers can participate in the program. Bugs that are discovered will be shared with other developers so they can take note of them and read on security recommendations.
SOURCE: Google Security Blog
